Abstract
In a Circular Economy context, agri-food can play an important role, since the majority of waste consists of residues potentially usable as secondary raw materials in several industrial processes, including the building sector. This chapter deals with some outcomes achieved in research projects carried out by TeAM (Tecnologia & Ambiente) of Politecnico di Torino in partnership with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). In particular, it describes a cluster of research projects entitled ALL YOU CAN’T EAT, focusing on the recycling of agricultural residues and food waste: both are used for developing new products for the construction industry and for promoting the transition from “waste” to “resource”. The paper highlights some open issues that must be considered when moving from experimentation to industrial production and symbiosis, such as: is the amount of waste sufficient to be put into a new production cycle and to ensure the continuity of the supply chain (and its economic sustainability)? Does a circular product really have a lower environmental impact than linear alternatives?
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank for CONCRICE project: Roberta Gariano; Dr Fulvio Canonico, Dr Manuela Bianchi (Buzzi Unicem); for THERMALMOND project: Bruna D’Agata; Prof. Valentina Serra (DENERG, Politecnico di Torino); Dr Marco Dutto (Vimark); for KERATOSTONE project: Mattia Sironi; Prof. Jean Marc Tulliani (DISAT, Politecnico di Torino); Globalcibo srl; Panamar snc; Keracoll; for the ECOFFI project: Jacopo Andreotti; Denis Faruku; Dr Marco Cappellari (Vicat Group) Dr Mauro Sarotto (Sarotto Group srl); Prof. Valentina Serra (DENERG, Politecnico di Torino); Arch. Corrado Carbonaro (LASTIN, Politecnico di Torino).
Credits
This chapter is the result of scientific work, carried out by the three authors and wrote with their equal commitment. Section 10.3 was written in collaboration with Jacopo Andreotti and Denis Faruku.
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Giordano, R., Montacchini, E., Tedesco, S. (2020). ALL YOU CAN’T EAT: Research and Experiences from Agri-Food Waste to New Building Products in a Circular Economy Perspective. In: Salomone, R., Cecchin, A., Deutz, P., Raggi, A., Cutaia, L. (eds) Industrial Symbiosis for the Circular Economy. Strategies for Sustainability. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36660-5_10
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